When you think of the global hotbeds of tech activity, you often think of places like California, China and India and Canada usually doesn’t immediately come to mind. You might be surprised to read that one of the hottest chat/messaging apps around is actually headquartered in our neighbor to the north in Waterloo, Ontario.

Kik Messenger was one of the earlier (2009) entries in this current wave of chat apps and has quietly amassed 300+ million users and a very active base among U.S. teens. While their user total is impressive, it pales in comparison to the massive bases for apps like WhatsApp, WeChat and LINE. That said, Kik Messenger is consistently one of the most searched-for companies in my digital stat directory, often ranking higher than their larger competitors, so I thought it was time to do a stat post specifically for them.

How many people use WhatsApp, WeChat, LINE, Kik, Skype Facebook Messenger and many more. Updated for February 2018. This post should give you an idea of the scope of the chat app market and what all the commotion is about…